LATEST ADDITIONS

Phono Preamplifiers
Lehmannaudio Decade Jubilee MM/MC Phono Preamp
Review: Adam Smith,  |  May 02, 2023
hfncommendedThis artisan phono stage from Germany has been on a journey of refinement lasting rather longer than a decade, culminating, for the time being, in this Jubilee version

With the notable exception of flatscreen TVs and very high-end hi-fi, generally speaking, technology is enabling smaller product solutions. German brand Lehmannaudio has been leading the charge for bijou components since its founding, and the principle is perfectly illustrated by the Jubilee variant of its evergreen Decade phono stage, released to celebrate the brand's 30 years, and retailing for £3149.

Continue Reading »
Audiophile Vinyl
Audiophile: Vinyl, April 2023
Ken Kessler  |  Apr 30, 2023
This month we review: The Kinks, Leonard Cohen, The Ornette Coleman Double Quartet and Potato Chip.
Continue Reading »
Audiophile Digital
Audiophile: Digital, April 2023
Ken Kessler  |  Apr 30, 2023
This month, we review: Crosby, Stills & Nash, Tommy Crona Jazz Trio, The Friends Of Distinction and Scabaret.
Continue Reading »
Rock
Rock, April 2023
Mike Barnes  |  Apr 30, 2023
This month we review: Unthank : Smith, Gaz Coombes, Anna B Savage and Belle And Sebastian.
Continue Reading »
Jazz
Jazz, April 2023
Steve Harris  |  Apr 30, 2023
This month we review: Houston Person, Bill Laurance & Michael League, Oscar Peterson and The Banger Factory.
Continue Reading »
Classical
Classical, April 2023
Peter Quantrill  |  Apr 30, 2023
This month we review: Takács Quartet, Gothic Voices, Clare Hammond and Gens, Orch De Lille/Bloch.
Continue Reading »
Hi-Res Downloads
Hi-Res Downloads, April 2023
Andrew Everard  |  Apr 28, 2023
This month we review and test releases from: Octave Records, Steven Isserlis, Connie Shih, Enrico Rava, Fred Hersch, Machaut/The Orlando Consort and Edward Hart/Charleston SO.
Continue Reading »
Network Audio Players/ServersOutboard DACs
iFi Audio NEO Stream Network-Attached DAC
Review: Jamie Biesemans,  |  Apr 26, 2023
hfnoutstandingBuilt into the same chassis as the NEO iDSD, with the same DAC onboard, this new version loses the headphone amp in favour of a bespoke, app-driven streaming platform

To say iFi Audio is an industrious producer of compact hi-fi solutions would be an understatement. More recently the brand has been on a steep upward path of technical evolution, employing designers as accomplished as the marketing department is imaginative. The result? IFi Audio is successful because it has identified new hi-fi hotspots that appeal to both younger and older music lovers alike.

Continue Reading »
Pre/Power Amplifiers
Threshold pre/power
Martin Colloms  |  Apr 25, 2023  |  First Published: Aug 01, 1991
hfnvintageMartin Colloms hears the FET nine/e and SA/3.9e from Threshold – a company that can lay claim to being one of the founders of the high-end...

Threshold has been making high-quality amps for many years, its preamps showing early use of FET circuitry and the power amps distinguished by an output stage design which Threshold calls 'Stasis', a kind of active Class A operation. Company founder and chief designer, Nelson Pass, remains fully involved and his signature appears on the circuit diagrams included in the excellently documented operating manuals supplied with the units.

Continue Reading »
Cables
Supra Sword Excalibur Loudspeaker Cable
Review and Lab: Paul Miller  |  Apr 24, 2023
hfnedchoiceSweden's Supra brand was in the vanguard of the cable revolution in the late '70s so its new and vibrant Excalibur flagship is no mere stab in the dark.

With its blue-tinged foil screen positively glowing through a tight, translucent PVC jacket, Supra's flagship speaker cable, priced at £1700 for a 3m terminated set (£300 per additional stereo metre), makes for a vivid statement. It's a world away from the speaker cables that helped Tommy Jenving launch his Swedish Supra brand in 1976. Its Supra Cable 4 and 2.5 used bunches of very fine copper strands in a standard figure-of-eight geometry. Its later 10mm2 Supra Cable 10, with 2562x0.07mm 4N copper strands, still has the lowest series resistance that I've measured (3.1mohm/m) when tested nearly 30 years ago [Hi-Fi Choice Aug '94].

Continue Reading »

Pages

X